He’s Out There review: A strong start doesn’t hold-up in this tale of a mother protecting her children.
He’s Out There review by Kat Hughes.
He’s Out There Review
An all American family are all set to go on their family vacation until dad Shawn (Justin Bruening) has a last minute meeting. Rather than wasting any precious vacation time, mum Laura (Yvonne Strahovski) decides to take their daughters Maddie and Kayla (real-life sisters Abigail and Anna Pniowsky) on ahead. Big mistake. The trio soon find themselves under attack from an unknown assailant, someone who has had an eye on the family for a very long time.
He’s Out There starts well, slowly building up tension, but soon falls into many obvious pitfalls. It’s a shame, as the opening third or so works well. It’s clear from the outset that something is going to go wrong (it is a genre film after-all), but it edges the suspense a notch at a time. The beginning of the attack is a stroke of dastardly genius and perfectly highlights the innocence of children. Sadly, when the full scale assault begins, it’s all unoriginal business as usual.
Cue running around blindly, calling out to let the murderer know their exact location, leaving valuable weapons etc. behind. There is also no clear reason for the antagonist to attack them, and it makes no sense. This isn’t a Purge or Funny Games story where it’s the randomness that is scary. Here, it feels like there should be a reason for the event; the aggression doesn’t make a huge amount of sense. Worse still, the antagonist actually monologues his muddled reasons, and they’re still confusing.
He’s Out There Review
As He’s Out There limps towards its finale it appears to be unsure how it wants to end. Consequently, we get a slow and stunted final act where we flit from person to person before we settle on a victim to dispatch the monster. Then there’s the cheap shot at sequel potential.
Overall, He’s Out There is just a muddled and disappointing film. There are some genuinely impressive bones hidden within the structure, if only they could have been fleshed out more successfully.
He’s Out There review by Kat Hughes, August 2018.
He’s Out There screened at Arrow Video Frightfest 2018.
